If you are new to Sendspark, and looking to create dynamic videos, this guide is for you!
We will cover how to...
We'll also touch on frequently asked questions at the bottom.
If you need further assistance, feel free to ping up through the chatbot in the bottom right corner of the website, or schedule an onboarding session.
Start Your Rapid Trial
Before you take the following steps, you need to make sure that you are on a Rapid or higher plan, as the Free and Starter plans do not include the Dynamic Video feature.
If you have not used your free trial yet, you can start a free 7-day trial (no credit card required) to try before you buy.
Start your trial or upgrade your plan in the billing section of Sendspark.
Set Up Your Sendspark Account
All of the steps in this section are optional, however, they can make the Sendspark experience better. If you set these up once, they will apply for all videos created in your library going forward, so we recommend doing them and getting them out of the way.
If you don’t feel like it, you can skip this section, or come back later to do it.
1. Set Global Styles
Sendspark lets you add your logo & brand colors to deliver a cohesive branded experience to video viewers.
To set your styles...
Go into your workspace settings
Click "Set Global Styles"
Use the edit on the left to upload your logo and select your color theme. You'll be able to preview how this will appear on video pages on the right.
Hit "Save Changes" when done
Please note that the logo & colors you select here may be used in other places around Sendspark, including the video request page and branded toolbar.
2. Configure Custom Domain
You have the option of using a custom domain, so when you send videos, instead of sending them from "sendspark.com/share/xyz..." you use your own domain, ex: "video.yourdomain.com/share/xyz..."
To do this, simply follow the steps to connect your domain in the Sendspark workspace settings.
If you need any help, check out this guide for how to use a custom domain with Sendspark.
This is optional, so no worries if need to skip this step!
3. Connect Your CRM or Analytics Platform
If you'd like to track how viewers are engaging with Sendspark videos in Hubspot, Salesforce, or another analytics platform, you can connect your CRM or add a tracking pixel.
Navigate to the Integrations tab, and select "Edit" for the platform you would link to use. Then add the ID number that that platform requires.
If you are not sure what to add, click on the link under your CRM platform to find a more specific help article.
If you can't connect your CRM here, or have other issues, you can still move forward. This will not impede the functionality of your campaign, only the tracking of it's success in that specific platform.
Awesome, we're all set up! Now time for the fun stuff... 🚀
Create Dynamic Video Campaign
1. Create Campaign
Start by going into the dynamic video section of Sendspark, and clicking "Create Dynamic Video" in the top right.
Give your campaign a name, and then click "Start Creating" to move on.
2. Add Video
The first thing you need to do is add your video to the campaign. This video will be the same for every dynamic video you create — it will be overlayed on your prospects' website.
You have a few options for adding your video to your campaign:
Paste a link — Add the share link to an existing right into the input area above.
Record a new video — Click "Start Recording" to record a new video and insert it into the input area. If you have the Sendspark Desktop App or Chrome Extension installed, the "Start Recording" button will trigger one of those recorders.
Browse your library — Click "Browse" to view all videos in your Sendspark library, and select from any existing video.
Upload a video — If you like to upload an existing video, upload it to your "My Videos" or "Team Videos" library, and then select it for a dynamic campaign using the "browse" option above.
Once you add your video, you will see it previewed in the section below, in the share page preview.
Note: In some cases, you might want to create a dynamic combined video. With dynamic combined videos, you can start with a dynamic introduction that shows your camera bubble recording over your prospect's website, and then seamlessly transition into a product demo.
To do this, just use a combined video in the video section above, and know that the first part of the video will be made dynamic for each prospect, and the 2nd part of your combined video will be the same for everyone.
AI Personalization
Want to use AI intros to automatically greet each viewer by name ("Hi Dan," "Hi Ben," etc.?)
Make sure to record your video with the wildcard variable, "Watermelon" in the introduction, and then toggle on AI voice cloning.
We also provide this recommendations for the best quality:
3. Customize Landing Page
You can customize the video landing page to enhance the viewer experience. Use the editor on the left to write text, and see how it will display on your video landing page in the preview area on the right.
Here is what we recommend for text:
Header: a short intro, like "Hi [First Name]"
Message: tell the viewer what they should do next, like "Book some time on my calendar below."
Call-to-Action Text: write the text you want displayed on your button
Call-to-Action URL: add the link to where the viewer should be directed when they click the button
When you upload your contact information in the next step, these merge tags will be replaced with the actual contact information for each recipient.
Bonus: Use Merge Tags
In any of these sections, you can merge tags to personalize videos for each of your viewers. Just click on the "personalize" button to add your merge tag.
4. Add Contacts & Generate Videos
Start typing contacts, or upload a CSV for everyone who would like to create videos for. You can export this list of contacts right from your email platform or CRM, and then export it into contacts.
If you're importing contacts from another platform, you will be asked to map contact information to the Sendspark contact properties:
firstName — first name for your contact (i.e. "Mark")
email — email address for your contact (i.e. "marc@salesforce.com". We will use this to map the contact in Sendspark to the contact in your email sending platform.
company — name of the company for your contact (i.e. "Salesforce")
jobTitle — job title for your contact (i.e. "CEO")
backgroundUrl — the URL for the webpage that you want to superimpose your video over. Can be their website homepage, or any public URL.
Only the "email" and "backgroundUrl" fields are required. And, if you don't have the background URLs handy, you can click a button to automatically extract them from your prospects' email domains.
Once you have all of your contact info in Sendspark, click "Generate Videos" to create dynamic videos for each of your contacts.
Note: We recommend you test your campaign with a few contacts before uploading your entire list, so if you need to make any tweaks to your campaign, you can do it before you generate all of your videos.
If you need a list of sample contacts, just download the sample CSV that we provide.
5. Share Videos
There are a few ways to share your dynamic videos:
Quick Share (1-to-1 Sending)
To quickly share a one off video with a contact, click on the "..." next to their name. Click on "Copy Link" to grab a share link that you can send them to them via LinkedIn, Slack, or any direct messaging channel.
If you'd like to share this with an animated thumbnail in email, click the "Copy GIF + Video Link" option, and paste this directly into any email compose window.
Note: There are more options to edit and manage your video from this dropdown! Click each one to see what it does.
Send in Email Campaign (Bulk Sending)
To send your video in a email cadence or sales sequence, click the "Share Campaign" button.
Then, click your email platform from the options listed. After you click on your email platform, you should see custom instructions for that platform pop up on the right.
Note: If you don't see custom instructions pop up, or you need additional help, you can view our help articles for each email platform here, or message support in the bottom right of the Sendspark page.
Track Dynamic Videos Campaign Success
After sending videos, you might want to see how your campaign is performing.
You'll get emails the first time anyone watches each of your video, and you can also view total campaign performance by clicking "See Engagement."
On the modal that pops up, you'll be able to see exactly who is watching, what percentage they watched, and what other actions they took.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will dynamic videos work over LinkedIn, Instagram, and other social sites?
No. right now, dynamic videos can only be made with public URLs. If you try to use social profiles in your dynamic videos, they will not look good.
Q: How can I make sure I'm sending sending videos in email to the same contacts I've created videos for in Sendspark?
To make sure your contact list is exactly the same in both Sendspark and your email platform, you can click on the "Download CSV" button. This will download a CSV of contacts who you've successfully generated videos for.
Q: Will all videos process perfectly for all contacts?
We're doing our best, but you should always be ready to double check our work. We recommend skimming through generated videos and making sure everything is up to your standards before sending them to contacts.